THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2
REVIEW

The game is set about 2 years after the original. After defeating the evil Curian at the end of House of the Dead, a mysterious character appeared next to his body. Sometime later, a town begins to show signs of zombie activity, so you and a team are sent to investigate. Many shocking discoveries follow, and the path even leads to an infested city! Maybe Curian isn't dead after all!

Well, since getting the game, I have had very little sleep! Staying up until 2am is not uncommon, now! The game is so damn playable! Everything from the arcade version has been recreated perfectly! The amazing realtime environments have to be seen to be believed! The action is non-stop, with zombies advancing towards you all of the time! Speaking of the zombies, they are so well designed and varied. There are standard ones, with flesh hanging off of their bones, others with knives or chainsaws, bats, owls, executioners, complete with black hoods and more! Each is destructible, too! Arms, legs and even the whole upper torso can all be shot away! Head shots are the best, with inaccurate ones blowing away chunks of skull, and direct hits knocking the whole head from it's shoulders, spinning it to the ground! It is the way you can destroy your enemies, that makes it more entertaining! Sick, maybe, fun, certainly! As you wander around one of the many huge levels, civilians will call for help. Accurate shooting of foes will save these innocent characters, which in turn can send you in a completely new direction. This happens many times throughout levels, and can change the situation where a boss is fought, and even where the next level begins! No two games will be the same! Whilst playing, the game is loading in new sections, so there are no pauses until a whole level is complete. This makes for a very frantic game playing experience! You have very little time to relax!

Now onto the new Dreamcast Gun, which for copyright problems, will not be released in the USA. It is slightly shorter than the Saturn Stunner gun, but weighs about the same. It sits comfortably in the hand. On the rear, above the grip, are two buttons and a digital D-pad. These are to make navigating option screens easy. Above these controls is a slot for either a VMS or a Puru Puru Pack. The rumble pack works very well, rumbling with every shot, and key events in the story. Highly recommended! 'Can you change the blood from green to red?' and 'Is the original House of the Dead included in the game?'. These are two questions I am asked often. Unfortunately, both answers are 'No'. The blood was changeable in the Saturn original, and the UK arcade version has red blood, but unless the U.S version has an option to change it, it's green all the way! Apparently, the Western versions of the game do feature red blood as an option upon completing the game.

In the main game, black cats will occasionally walk past. I don't remember seeing these in the arcade version, so they may have something to do with extra hidden bonuses. Just, maybe, ok? Extras included in the Dreamcast version are new game modes and little touches in the levels. A training mode, where specific, very hard tasks are given, a boss mode, where you fight all of the bosses in order, and an original mode, where you can choose and gain extra items for use in play. Some of these extra items are great, such as a machine gun, a paintball gun, extra credits and extra life. Other items change the game even more, with a hilarious 'big-head mode' and an option to 'be' a Grandma!! Difficulty and energy levels can be altered in the comprehensive option screen.

Now, onto the final comment. This is easily the best gun game ever! Forget the Virtua Cops and Time Crisis', this is pure arcade shooting insanity! Amazing graphics, huge, varied levels with many multiple paths, frantic blasting, great sound and funny voice acting! Everything gels to create such a fun experience, that it goes beyond a mere gun game. The 2 player mode and the Gun Bullet/ Point Blank style Training mode add longevity to the title. Overall, insane fun, and incredible to watch as well as play!

Screenshots (click to enlarge)

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